One of the top matchups on Wednesday’s NBA slate pits the Golden State Warriors against the San Antonio Spurs as these Western Conference standouts face off. It’s a battle of the old guard against the new faces as Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler take on Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox, so the fun meter is cranked up high for the showdown between playoff hopefuls. Which side comes out on top tonight?
Here’s a Warriors vs. Spurs prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Wednesday night’s game.
Warriors vs. Spurs prediction, preview
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors nursed a recent absence of superstar Steph Curry and are just 6-6, but the point guard is back in the lineup and good to go for tonight’s contest. He leads the team with 25.0 PPG, though he’s shooting just 37.9% from three-point range, remarkably low for the sharpshooter. Jimmy Butler is second on the roster with 18.3 PPG with all-around production as a rebounder and playmaker as well, while young talent Jonathan Kuminga sits third in scoring with 14.9 PPG and first in rebounding with 6.8 boards a night. The latter is questionable to play on Wednesday with a knee issue, but if healthy, he adds a big boost to the starting five. Draymond Green also provides defense and passer with a team-best 5.3 assists, while Quenten Post rounds out the starting lineup at center. Golden State sits 18th in NETRTG at 0.4, 13th in TS%, 20th in PPG and 11th in opponent scoring.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs’ young talent has them second in the Western Conference with an 8-2 record. Otherworldly superstar Victor Wembanyama’s statistical production is largely unmatched by anyone else in the NBA — he averages 25.7 PPG, 12.8 REB, 3.4 AST, 1.2 STL and 3.9 BLK, the last of which is a league-best (for the third straight season). While he gets most of the headlines, point guard De’Aaron Fox returned from injury two games ago and posted 22.5 PPG and 4.0 AST during that small sample size. His presence adds a second star to the picture and deadly pick-and-roll partner for Wembanyama, so this pairing should do serious damage as Fox gets healthier. Stephon Castle now moves into more of an off-ball role but sits third on the team with 18.5 PPG and a team-high 7.7 AST, wing Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes also score in the double-figures. The Spurs are fifth in NETRTG, fourth in TS%, 11th in PPG, and fourth-best in opponent scoring.
Warriors vs. Spurs pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Spurs are favorites at -3.5 with -162 odds to win on the Moneyline. The Warriors hold +136 odds to win outright and upset with a game total of 232.5 points.
This should be a very fun matchup between very talented teams. Golden State has plenty of proven veterans in the starting lineup with a mix of young contributors like Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody alongside Al Horford all coming off the bench. They’re a rather deep rotation, while San Antonio lacks that same level of depth off the bench with Keldon Johnson the most notable talent. Standout rookie Dylan Harper (calf) also won’t play tonight, so the Spurs will miss one of their most athletic two-way players.
Granted, San Antonio has the clear-cut best player on the floor with Wembanyama. Plus, the Spurs are riding a three-game winning streak and remain undefeated at home. The Warriors, meanwhile, are a paltry 1-6 on the road themselves. Home/road splits aren’t an end-all, be-all solution when it comes to betting, but there’s a clear gap (in the albeit small sample) of how these teams match up here. If Kuminga plays, this may be a close contest. However, the Spurs can roll over this Golden State squad if the young talent doesn’t suit up thanks to one of the league’s strongest defenses and an array of options on the other side of the ball. Simply put, nobody can match up with Wemby.
